What Does The Walmart Shopify Partnership Mean for Fashion Marketplaces?

Walmart announced its partnership with the popular eCommerce marketplace Shopify in June 2020. Let’s look at what the Walmart Shopify partnership means for fashion brands and how it can benefit businesses. 

The Walmart Shopify Partnership 

Walmart and Shopify announced their partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic when eCommerce started to thrive. This Walmart Shopify partnership will allow the store owners to sell their products on Walmart’s marketplace. This is an excellent opportunity for Walmart to diversify its marketplace offerings and get in the race with eCommerce giant Amazon. Walmart is keen to expand its market offering. 

The new Walmart Shopify partnership focuses on efficient brands with a loyal client base and excellent customer service. 

The Benefits of the Walmart Shopify Partnership

If you own a Shopify site, you are in store for excellent benefits, such as:

1. Reach more people: If you’re a small fashion business owner on Shopify, willing to reach out to more people, this partnership can prove beneficial. Walmart has a reach of 100 million new users every day, and now with the Walmart Shopify partnership, Shopify users have access to the same number of unique users. This means that the Shopify small fashion businesses will have a bigger audience and more sales. 
2. Brand credibility: Selling as a small fashion business can be difficult. You have to build trust and credibility among the potential customers slowly, but things are different with the Walmart Shopify partnership. When you sell on the Walmart eCommerce site, the brand credibility shoots up among the buyers as Walmart backs you. 
3. A diverse range of products: Shopify has different genres of shops online. Walmart allows the sellers only to sell products similar to Walmart's products. Still, the good news is that Walmart being a retail giant, offers everything from wall paints to groceries. This diverse marketplace is the perfect place for a small fashion business. 
4. No additional charges: The best thing about the Walmart Shopify partnership is that if you are already a user of Shopify, you do not have to pay anything extra to get your products on the Walmart eCommerce site. You get all the benefits associated with the Walmart site for free, with no additional charges at all. 
5. Walmart’s 2-day shipping tag: Free shipping with fast delivery is the dream of every online shopper, and Walmart is making it true. With the 2-day shipping tag, Shopify users, selling on the Walmart marketplace, can guarantee free shipping with fast delivery selling on the Walmart marketplace. A win-win situation for everyone involved. 
6. Innovative Tools: Users have access to all the new tools that can help them drive up their sales organically. They also provide users with analytics that can make decision-making more effortless and convenient. 

How To Start Selling With Shopify On Walmart?

The benefits sure sound nice. But to start selling on this huge eCommerce platform, here are a few requirements you must fulfill to get your fashion business onboard:

1. Mid-sized or small-sized business: Your brand should either be small or mid-scale. The Walmart marketplace is only focused on helping mid and small-sized companies thrive on the eCommerce platform. 
2. Variety of products: Your brand should offer a diverse range of options for each category. 
3. Customer Service: Your brand should provide prompt and effortless customer service. 

If you’re eligible for the process, then here is a step-to-step guide to register your fashion brand and sell with Walmart:

Step 1: Download Walmart Marketplace from Shopify’s app. 

Step 2: There is an application process to see if your business is eligible or not. You need to start by filling out a form to provide as much information about your business as possible. This consists of US Business Tax ID, EIN Verification letter from the Treasury Department, planned integration method for product catalogs, history of the marketplace, or eCommerce success. 

Please check that your product is eligible and not prohibited as per Walmart’s products policy. 

Step 3: Once your business is approved, you will get a registration link on your registered email address. You have to click it, and you will start your registration journey. The registration consist of the following process:

1. Account Creation: You will be asked to set the login credentials for your account. The username will be pre-decided as per your form. You will be directed to the seller's center, the portal for account management of a seller. 
2. Walmart Retailer Agreement: You will be provided with a legal retainer agreement, which you need to read and authorize that you must with your signature.
3. Company Registration: You will be required to enter a display name for your company and the corporate address. The title will be displayed to all the users, whereas the address will be used for internal purposes only. 
4. Tax Form: This is necessary for tax purposes. You will be required to fill in your name, address, and Taxation Identification Pin (TIN).
5. Payment Info: You need to either register with Payoneer or Hyperwallet to get payments on the sale of your products. They are the official payment partners of Walmart Marketplace. 
6. Shipping info: The last step of the registration process is choosing shipping payment models, shipping methods, and regions to which you are willing to ship. This might take some time as Walmart Marketplace provides a variety of shipping models. 

Step 4: Once you have completed the lengthy registration process, you will list all your fashion-based products and test them before going live. Testing gives a clear idea about the user journey and what can be improved to make it easy and smooth. It is recommended to list your trendy and best-selling products first. If you have multiple items, start with a couple of things in each category for a smooth process, and later on, you can add more products to your catalog. 

Once you are done with testing, Voila! You are ready to go live. Walmart Marketplace does a final review of your account before launching it online. It takes up to 24-48 hours, but once it is approved, you are up and running with an audience of millions and many potential clients. 

The entire process of getting registered on the Walmart marketplace might feel a little tiring, but the benefits are worth the time. Walmart marketplace is a boon for small and midsize fashion business owners. With the rapid innovative tools being introduced, you can now get an online shopfront with the least hassle.

Want to grow, expand and reach a bigger audience? With quality service and premium clothing products from Fashinza, any fashion or clothing start-up can reach millions of new people through Walmart. The scope of growth for small and mid-sized businesses is vast and profitable in this eCommerce model. Contact us today!